Meta tolerated widespread ad fraud from China to protect billions in revenue, internal documents show, even as the company found that up to 19% of its $18 billion China ad business came from scams and banned content.

"The report, published Monday, found that Meta generated roughly $18 billion in advertising revenue from China in 2024, around 10% of its global revenue, even as internal documents showed that nearly one-fifth of that (about $3 billion) came from ads tied to scams, illegal gambling, pornography, and other prohibited activity. Meta internally labeled China its top “scam exporting nation,” accounting for 25% of all scam and banned-product ads globally, according to the report. Meta’s core social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) are blocked in China, but the company still earns billions from Chinese advertisers targeting global users."

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